“Damn it.” Sylvia hung up the phone and met the eyes of her business partner, Paige. Together they had created the Shifting Hearts Dating Agency and, after many successful pairings, she hated having a fail on the radar.

“What?” Paige put her cell phone down on the desk and cocked her head.

“Dr. Buchanan left; and I booked Cardiac Café just for him, too.” Sylvia got up from her desk and paced in front of the windows. “All those great milk shakes. It’s a shame.”

“You know, you’re gonna have to break out the Aphrodite powers with that one. He’s all business and no give.”

“No.” Sylvia shook her head and nibbled on her lip. “I have a feeling something’s going to change for him.”

“Like what? Find some girl and break her arm so he pays attention to her for more than five seconds? I mean, did you see him at the restaurant? All he did was walk around once and then dig into his onion rings like a starving man. It was unhealthy.”

“You’re just saying that because you wished he looked at you.” Sylvia laughed. “And those were good onion rings.”

“I don’t know how you can eat that stuff.” Paige sniffed and held up her perfectly manicured hand. “As a matter of fact, I’m not interested in dating right now. But, I can also tell you, I’ve seen your boy hanging out with a couple of regular subs at Ventures.”

“Really?”

“Yup.” Paige grinned. “That boy is kinky as hell. I wouldn’t be surprised by anything.”

“You just never know. He was so quiet, and never brought it up on the questionnaire.”

“He was probably embarrassed. Some people like to keep their lives private.”

“Well, that doesn’t help us match him up with a potential mate.”

“True.” Her phone buzzed and she looked down, a frown marring her face. “Turn on the television.”

Sylvia’s eyebrows shot up. “You sure about that?”

“Oh. Yeah. Nevermind.” Paige jumped up from her seat behind the desk and grabbed for the remote. They had a small television in the waiting area but, more often than not, it was they who got the most use out of it.

“I killed the last one. Not touching it.”

Paige snorted. “You are a technological curse on wheels, woman. No electronic gadget will ever be safe.”

“Goddess powers can’t be contained.”

“Watch me.” Paige flicked on the television and surfed down the guide, honing in on the local news channel. The scene was filled with onlookers gaping at a scene hidden behind a partition and a ton of fluttering crime scene tape.

“What happened?”

“I just got this weird text on my phone. Garrett, from the club, said it has something to do with shifters.”

“Turn the volume up.”

“The deceased was a known shifter and a member of many local community organizations. One other shifter was injured during the shooting, and has been taken to the hospital. We won’t be identifying victims until the families are notified.” Tommy Bartlett, the local sheriff, was speaking on the screen. A guarded expression covered his face, his body language stiff and stilted.

“We at WNRK have learned of the hate group HEXEN and their recent witch on shifter violence. Can you confirm that, Sheriff?”

“Not at this time.” The sheriff shifted on his feet and his jaw tightened.

“What about suspects?”

“We haven’t got anyone of interest at this time. But someone is very obviously targeting members of the shifter community. This follows several attacks around town of known anti-shifter hate crimes over the course of the last six weeks. If you or someone you know are dual natured, be aware of your surroundings and don’t put yourself in a risky situation until we know more about what this is. Thank you, folks.”

“Thank yo,u Sheriff Paulsen.” The blonde reporter turned back to the camera. “This is Eileen Maberry coming to you from Isenby Park. Stay safe, Cypress Valley.”

“I thought that looked familiar. It’s over around the jogging trail.” Sylvia said thoughtfully.

“You jog?” Paige raised an eyebrow.

“Funny.”

“This isn’t good. Jonathan and Lucas had mentioned some anti-shifter violence causing them to move. But here? Over half our population is dual natured.” Paige clicked off the television and sat down on the arm of the couch. “If shifters are afraid to come out, our business is going to suffer.”

“It has been slow.”

“We haven’t had a thing all day.”

“Yeah.”

“It almost reminds me of what Natalie’s mother was up to, trying to blackmail people into quitting Ventures.”

Sylvia shook her head. “Not the same.”

“I know. What do you want to do?”

“The only thing we can do. Wait. The clients will come to us and we’ll be waiting when they get here.”